Finding Truth
by SMacked4ever
Summary: How has everthing been for everyone two years after the storm? Nothing is what it seems as the finding the truth becomes the most dangerous task our CSIs and friends can face. Crossover with House, Cold Case, and Without A Trace. Full Summary Inside!
1. The Surprising News

_Hello Everyone! This is the latest addition to the Rising Storm stories and will probably be the last add on to the story. If you haven't read the first two stories, you can still read this one, though it will make more sense if you read the other two first. Read and review at any time!_

_Title: Finding Truth_

_Rated: K+_

_Summary: Two years ago the storm that caused chaos around the country happened and Lindsay's found out she was indeed Paige Hobson. Many other things were left unanswered. What is Thirteen's real name? How did House and Cuddy's relationship go throughout the two years since the storm? How has everyone been after the storm? And how has Paige been in jail? Nothing is what is seems as everyone reunites in what could be one of the most terrifying incidents in their lives… Crossover with House, Cold Case, and Without a Trace. SMacked, D/L, Huddy, Lilly/Scotty, and maybe a little Kudley (That's Thirteen and Kutner from House to those who don't know!)_

_Part Three: Finding Truth_

_Two Years after the Storm_

_Princeton, New Jersey_

_Chapter One: The Surprising News_

"Cuddy…"

She opened her eyes to look at him.

"Cuddy," he repeated.

"You know I'm staring right at you," she whispered. "I _can _hear you now."

She could hear now. Two years ago, after the storm that had engulfed the country had come to an end, she had decided to get the cochlear implant, so she could hear again. She had been tired of living in a soundless world; she had wanted so badly to hear House's voice again. She also got it so she wouldn't be in danger, like how she had been when the tornadoes had hit Chicago and she couldn't hear the sirens. She had been fine with who she was, she had heard the world through her eyes. But she had to hear again, that was what she had wanted.

"It's time for work."

She took one look at the clock and closed her eyes. "Just five more minutes, mommy."

"Hey," House warned, "that's my line."

"I know," she mumbled. "And I'm using it." She turned away from him and hoped for some extra sleep.

"Fine," he said.

Suddenly, she felt the hard wooden floor hit her back as she fell from the bed. She immediately opened her eyes, sat up, and yelled, "House!"

"Wake up call," he said. "You're going to be late for work."

She got up from the floor and started making the bed. "Since when have you been worried about arriving to work late?"

House popped his head outside the bathroom. "Since now. Now hurry up."

Something was up and she knew House wouldn't tell her. Just like he would always have some odd theory on why a patient was sick, he wouldn't give the slightest clues for his explanations for something. It seemed as though he were going to surprise her with some news. This news could be catastrophic or marvelous.

They were married now, they had been for two years, and he would come to caring more about her than one of his patients at Princeton Plainsboro, even when she wasn't sick. She still worked as administrator and he still worked as the head of the diagnostics department. House's staff still consisted of Dr. Eric Foreman, Dr. Chris Taub, Dr. Lawrence Kutner, and Dr. Hadley, also known as Thirteen.

After all these years, House still hadn't figured out her first name. He would beg her to tell him, but she just kept her mouth shut. He would even try to get Thirteen to tell him, but she always knew his trick. Cuddy called her 'Hadley' when she came over to talk to her, which made House annoyed because he knew she was doing that just to make him even more impatient about finding out the answer himself. But she gave him the hint he wanted two years ago, now he had to go figure out the rest of the puzzle by himself. Besides, he devoted a lot of his life to solving puzzles.

But the four doctors weren't the only ones on House's staff. After they had decided to get married themselves, Dr. Allison Cameron and Dr. Robert Chase had joined his staff. Cameron admitted that she had missed the mystery of her old job, trying to figure out what disease a patient had. Chase didn't actually say why he came back to his old job, but they knew it was because he wouldn't leave Cameron to work by herself. Surprisingly, he had let them join the staff without hesitation, so now his team included his old staff and the three new ducklings. There were plenty of people on his team now, and she wouldn't let him hire anyone else for the job to work for him.

She hurried to get dressed and ready for work as House waited impatiently for her. Once she was ready, she followed him to the car. House gave her a funny look as she got into the car. "What?" she asked, noticing his stare.

"You look kind of pale," he said. "Are you feeling okay?"

_Just peachy, _she wanted to say, but instead she said, "I'm just tired. I didn't get that much sleep last night."

He nodded and began driving to the hospital. As he was driving, Cuddy leaned her head against the window. He soon rolled down her car window, which caused her to move her head away from the window. "House!"

"What?" he asked. "I thought you might need fresh air."

He was using his teasing voice again, which meant he was trying to annoy her or he was trying to prove a point. She decided he was trying to annoy her. She turned to look at him. "I'm tired, House; can't you let me get a few moments of shut eye?"

"Turn to look that way," he said, pointing towards the open window.

She knew what he was doing. When they had been on the flight to Singapore, a woman that had been sitting in the seat in front of House had been so worried about catching the disease that the patient had on the flight. House had asked her to do the same thing, when all of the sudden she threw up. He knew that she wasn't feeling well, but she knew he was just trying to play games with her. "No, I know what you're doing."

"I'm serious," he said. "Turn to look that way."

She let herself ask the same question that the woman on the flight had. "Why?"

He answered her with the same thing that he had said to the woman. "Because in five seconds you're going to throw up and I don't want you to get it on me."

She stared at him for the five seconds. When she was going to say that he had been wrong, she felt her stomach give a violent jerk, and she turned to throw up out the window.

"Well, I guess I was off by three seconds," said House.

She turned to look at him again. "How'd you know…?"

"You aren't sick," he replied. "And you don't have the flu."

"House, I was never sick...Then what do you think I have if I'm not sick?"

"I've noticed you haven't been eating much this week," House explained. "You also have been sick this week too."

She thought back to a few days ago. How had he known? "You just said I wasn't sick."

"Not sick as in _sick_," replied House. "I mean_ sick_, as in what you just did a few seconds ago."

"Stop playing games with me House," said Cuddy. "Just tell me what I have."

As the car came to a stop, House turned to look at her. "Have you ever thought about having children?"

"Yes, I've always wanted to have children…" She paused, now realizing the point he was trying to make earlier. "Wait, you think I'm pregnant?"

House nodded. "We're at the hospital now, but there really isn't any reason to go now. It's Sunday and we have the day off…"

Cuddy barely heard what he said. She never thought she would ever have a child, so she had overlooked all the signs that would have told her herself that she could possibly be pregnant. But this was her first child, their first child, together as a family. This was all she had ever wanted, and now her wish had finally come true. "Really?" she asked in a quiet voice. "Is it really true?"

"I wouldn't be lying to you Cuddy," said House.

Cuddy smiled. As she spoke, her voice was only a whisper. "Yeah, today is Sunday, isn't it? We don't have to worry about work. Let's…let's head back home."

House nodded, starting up the car again and pulling out of the parking lot. The two were quiet the rest of the way home, too astonished about the news to say anything. Cuddy turned to look at House.

Everyone had said he was miserable; she had even agreed to it. He had been miserable. But he wasn't the House he had been all those years ago, miserable and insensitive to other people's feelings. He did care for others; he cared for her. And now she was going to start a family with him, with the man she had always loved.

_Chapter 2- How has Paige been doing in jail for the past two years? Next chapter we head back to New York and see how Paige is in jail. _

_A/N: So, how was the first chapter? Reviews are much appreciated!_


	2. Story of My Life

_Thanks to Aly for reviewing! Thanks also to violet2754, BlackRose86, nikkinicky420, dizzygirl464, JavaJunkie4evr, Ana Pereira, and Aly for putting this story on Story Alert! Thanks for the support! I'm glad you liked the last chapter!_

_New York City_

_Chapter Two: Story of My Life_

Paige Hobson sat on the cold stone floor of her jail cell, listening to the rain fall quietly outside. The rain wouldn't be anything like she had seen it in the past years of her life. No floods, it would be just rain. She remembered the time when the hurricane had hit New York, causing them to depart to Chicago and then later experience a period of freezing cold weather, which had been caused by global cooling. Many other things had also happened during that time. She had found out she was living two different lives, Paige Hobson/Lindsay Monroe, but soon, she found out the real answer. She was Paige Hobson, and she did deserve to be in jail.

Many years ago, in 2005, she had worked as a data analyst, and she would always strive to make a difference in the world. Luke Mala, the guy who had kidnapped Stella, had known something of her, and he had worked with her for a week or so, but then got fired for some reason that she couldn't remember. Emil Dornvald had come to her office one day, undercover as a NYPD detective, and had asked her boss if he could speak with her. He had never really worked for the NYPD, but he knew Adisa Teno, who had been her former boyfriend. Immediately after he had come to her office, she had disappeared, trying to get away from him.

She later found out that Adisa had been a wanted terrorist after finding out that he had used the money she had given him for relief supplies for weapons instead. She had also found out that his whole family had gotten murdered. She did love him still, and he did as well, but they realized they couldn't be seen together. Adisa gave her a gun, and told her, "I know you don't believe in hurting people, but don't let them hurt you." She had taken the gun, but had no plan to use it.

Julia Gomez, a girl she had been teaching, had gotten pregnant, the undercover detective being the father, and later he had killed her, just to make Paige miserable. He had somehow gotten her number, and he called her when she was about to leave for Connecticut. That had made her encouraged to do what she had done, and with the gun Adisa had given her, she located where General Gamba was going, and waited for him. When he had arrived to his location, the same time the FBI agents had located her, she walked away from her hiding place and shot him when he appeared out of his limo. After she had done that, she surrendered to the police right away, putting down her gun, laying down on the ground and putting her hands behind her back. She later got interrogated by Samantha Spade, now her friend, who had took one look at her and said she didn't seem like the type to kill someone. She hadn't been, but she explained that she did it to help Adisa's country, to free his people from such a cruel leader. She told her how Adisa had said that there is a moment when people take action. And that had been her moment.

Later, when Luke Mala had kidnapped Stella, the FBI agents had come to the New York Crime Lab, and right away both she and Samantha recognized each other. None of the other FBI agents had recognized her, even though they knew that Paige Hobson had had two strange disappearances. Not many people had recognized her as Paige Hobson, only because they had given up on her, thinking she was dead. People either already knew of her as Lindsay Monroe then or thought she looked enough like Beth, Paige's sister, not Paige herself. But soon Samantha had gotten her to break, and that was how she had remembered her life as Paige. She still remembered being Lindsay Monroe, having to witness her friends get murdered at age sixteen, having to testify to the killer of her friends' murder, growing up in Montana. And she had once been Lindsay Monroe in her life; she had lived under two different aliases.

Now she was there in jail, serving the time she had for murdering General Gamba. She knew what she did had helped Adisa's country, but after experiencing life as Lindsay Monroe, she knew that was the wrong thing to do and now she believed she had every right to be here. She was unlike most criminals, who thought murdering someone, was right. She was different.

She turned to look at the jail cell next to her. A teenager, no more than seventeen years old, was in the jail cell next to her. He had just got arrested that night and she had watched the police officers carry him there, throwing him into the jail cell like they had done to her years ago. She knew she would be in jail for most of her life so it didn't bother her watching the people walk back and forth across the hall, waiting for someone to come get her. Danny, her love, had visited a few times the first year she had been in jail, but now, she knew he would be too busy to find the time to come visit. But he had promised one thing: he would never fall in love with another person besides her.

She moved closer to the other jail cell, to see the guy's face. He looked up at her hesitantly, and then back down at the ground again. She decided to talk to him. "Hey kid," she said.

He looked at her again. "I'm not a kid."

"You sure aren't an adult," she replied.

"I'm a teenager," he said. "And I do have a name."

She heard a door open and turned to look the other way. When she realized it was nothing, she turned back to look at him. "Well, I wouldn't know it."

"Andy," he replied quietly.

"Paige," she said. She studied his face, which showed his fear. He also looked as if he had been in a fight. "Judging by those wounds I would say you were in a fight. But it seemed like that fight turned into something else, like murder maybe?"

"Maybe," Andy said with a shrug. "Why are you here?"

She thought he was about to add, "You don't seem like the type to murder someone," and that's what most people thought of her. How could good girl Paige Hobson who did nothing but strive to make a difference in the world kill anyone? That was the wrong way to think of her. "I shot a key figure in the world," she explained. "But unlike most people, I know I deserve to be here."

Andy looked up at her in surprise.

"What I did was wrong," she continued. "Murder isn't the answer to solve problems. It just makes things worse. I shot General Gamba just to help protect Adisa from becoming dead like Julia, but he still ended up die. I shouldn't have ever fallen in love with him." She knew that the kid was probably wondering who all those people were, but she didn't tell him. "I've been here for who knows how long and I'll be here until I die. I've accepted that."

Right at that moment, one of the security guards appeared at her jail cell. "Paige Hobson?" he asked.

She turned to look at him.

"You've got a visitor."

She nodded and then looked at Andy again. "Someday, you'll have someone visit you." She got up and walked over to the jail bars that separated her from the real world. The security guard unlocked the door and escorted her to the room where she had spoken to Danny years ago. The security guard stayed close by, incase she decided to make a break for it. She wouldn't even think about doing that, like she had said, she knew she deserved to be there and would serve her time.

She looked through the glass that separated her from the person who had come to visit her. She gasped when she saw who it was. "Lisa?" she asked. She picked up the phone next to her to say something more, even though she knew Cuddy couldn't hear anything. She tried to remember how to sign her name, but after all the years she spent in jail she had forgotten.

Cuddy shook her head. "I can hear you," she said into the phone on her side of the glass.

Paige stared at her in amazement. "You can? I mean, when did you get your hearing back, and how did you get your hearing back?"

"Cochlear implant," replied Cuddy. She looked down. "Do they hurt?"

She looked down at the hand-cuffs around her wrists. "No, I guess I'm used to them." She stared down at her hands for a few seconds, but then looked back up at Cuddy. "You didn't just come to tell me that did you? I mean, there's got to be something else."

"Maybe," Cuddy said. "But what about you? How have you been doing?"

"Me?" questioned Paige. "I'm in jail, life is terrible, but you know what? I believe I should be here, unlike most that come here. There's the summary of my life, now what have you come here to tell me?"

"You know Gregory House, right?"

Paige nodded.

"We're married now, if you weren't aware of that, but he and I, we're going to have our first child."

"Oh Lisa, that's great!" exclaimed Paige. She thought of Mac and Stella, who had a child on their way before she had gone to jail. She wondered how they were doing now. "How long have you and House been married?"

"Two years," replied Cuddy.

"How long ago was that storm, the one that had been caused by global cooling and global warming?"

"Two years ago," Cuddy said. "It's 2011 now."

She was astounded. She had been in jail for only two years now. She had gone missing and murdered General Gamba six years ago. Everything had happened such a long time ago. "Has anything changed? Has the world invented new things like flying cars or something like that yet?"

Cuddy laughed. "No, we're not that far into the future yet. I know it seems like such a long time ago when that storm hit, but really, it hasn't been. But ever since that storm, not much has changed."

The voice of the security guard sounded behind them. "Paige, your time is up."

She turned around to look at him. "Just one moment please." She didn't wait for his comment; she just turned back around to look at Cuddy. "I'm sorry for cutting you off, if you were trying to tell me something else besides about you and House."

"That's okay," Cuddy said. "There was nothing else I had to tell you. But it was nice to see you again."

Paige nodded. "Um, could you do a favor for me?"

"Sure," replied Cuddy. "What is it?"

"Mac and Stella Taylor, have you heard of them?" she asked.

"Yes," said Cuddy. "I actually spoke with them. I told Stella about you, remember?"

She nodded. "Could you tell them I said hi?"

Cuddy nodded. "I'll tell them that. And Mac and Stella, they had told me to tell you hi. Maybe next time I'll bring a picture of Corina, their child. She's such a sweetheart."

Paige nodded. The security guard suddenly put his hand on her shoulder. She looked behind her. "Your time's up."

She got up from the chair. Before she left, she waved to Cuddy, to say goodbye, though it was hard to with the hand-cuffs around her wrists. She didn't get the chance to see if Cuddy waved back because the security guard quickly took her away from the window, back down the hallway she had come from, and back to her jail cell. Once he had taken the hand-cuffs off her hands, he pushed her back into the cell, causing her to collapse on the floor. Locking the door and slamming it behind him, he said, "Next time, maybe you'll listen."

She looked at her hands, now bleeding from scraping them on the concrete floor. She ignored the blood and put her head down against the floor. She began to cry, wishing for anything to be out of jail. She knew she deserved to be there, but she'd had enough. She had missed too many things, all the things around her were changing and she hadn't been there to see it. She hadn't gotten to see Mac and Stella's child, she hadn't been there to see Cuddy get married to House, she hadn't been able to see Danny for such a long time, who she loved. She hated her life, she wished everything could just go away, and then all of her problems would be solved.

What if she did try to commit suicide? Who would care anyway? But she knew that was wrong; a lot of people _did_ care about her. The whole CSI team would be devastated, not to mention Danny, if she did that. Cuddy would wonder what had come to her, especially since she had just talked to her and she hadn't seemed upset with anything. Samantha would be disappointed with her, she hadn't wanted her to cry all her problems anyway, and if she tried to pull off killing herself, she knew she would keep hearing Sam's voice inside her head telling her that it wasn't the way to solve her problems. She couldn't commit suicide; she knew it didn't help solve anything. It would just make everything worse.

She heard her name being called, but she didn't respond. She didn't want to talk to anyone right now; couldn't they tell she wanted to be left alone? Or was it the stupid security guard that was calling her name, to come tell her that she shouldn't cry so loudly?

"Paige."

This time, she lifted her head to see Andy, staring through the cell bars that kept them separated. He looked at her sympathetically. "What Andy?"

"What happened?" he asked. "Did they hurt you?"

She shook her head. "Andy, could you just leave me alone right now? This is just something you won't understand, okay?"

Andy nodded. "Okay, I'll leave you alone. But Paige, can I tell you something?"

She turned to look at him.

"Please don't try to kill yourself, if you're tired of being here. It's not the answer."

She looked at him in disbelief. The kid was barely seventeen years old, and he was the one giving her the advice not to commit suicide.

"I know you said that you know you deserve to be here, but you do seem miserable. You try to hard to be happy with your life, but I know you're not. But suicide won't help, you'll get out of jail, believe me, you will."

Paige got up from the ground and walked over to Andy. She wiped the blood off her hands on her pants, since she didn't have anything else to wipe it on. She then put her hand through the bars, so she could reach Andy's. "I'm not gonna do that. Don't worry, okay?"

Andy nodded. He took hold of her hand and gave it a quick shake. "Thank you."

The noise of an opening door sounded in the hallway, and she quickly moved away from Andy's jail cell. As another security guard passed through the hallway, she looked at Andy, giving him a look of gratitude. "Thank you," she mouthed to him.

He nodded and then moved into the darkness of his jail cell. She sat down on the floor again, keeping her gaze on the spot where he had been. She soon fell asleep, thinking about the world beyond her jail cell.

_Chapter 3- House dreams he is on a bus and meets a mysterious woman who turns out to be…well, you'll have to read the next chapter to find out. Spoilers in this chapter!_

_A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And if you know who this 'mysterious woman' is in House's dream right now because you watched the season finale of House then don't give it away! Thanks! :) Sorry for not updating for such a long time! So much has been happening right now and I haven't had much time to write! The next chapter will be up tomorrow though!_


	3. Dreams Of Amber

_Thanks to Aly for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the last chapter! _

_Princeton, New Jersey_

_Chapter Three: Dreams Of Amber_

House grabbed on to her hand. That suddenly awoke Cuddy, who turned to look at him. "You had that dream again, didn't you?" she asked him.

It had been five days since he had found out the news of Cuddy being pregnant and since the time she had been to the New York Jail, to visit a friend from a while ago. Each night since then he had been having a dream where he would be riding on a bus heading to where, he didn't know, and moments later it would crash. Every time he would close his eyes, he would see the destruction, the car crashing into the bus, the windows of the bus shattering, but he could never remember the passengers on the bus, it always seemed as if he was the only one on the bus. He nodded, to answer Cuddy's question.

"I think it's time we admit you as a patient," she said. "This isn't normal."

"I'll be fine," House said, staring at the ceiling. But as he looked at the ceiling, he thought he could see the scene of the bus crashing. He turned his gaze towards her. "I can handle this."

Cuddy gave him a doubtful look. "You can't handle this. You need to make sure these dreams aren't explaining a medical condition."

"Don't start treating me like a patient," he said.

"I let you treat me like a patient five days ago," Cuddy said. "Now, it's my turn."

"Goodnight Cuddy," he said, closing his eyes. Immediately he was taken back to the bus, but this time, the bus was smoothly running, and there were many passengers on board. It had been the first time he had seen the bus full of passengers. A woman with brunette hair was looking at him, sitting near the back of the bus. He suddenly recognized her, from his dream. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Why are you noticing?" she asked.

"I recognize you, from my dream," House said, getting up from his seat and walking over to her. "You and the bus driver are the only ones I remember."

"Maybe you should try the bus driver," she replied. "You may know him."

As House turned to look at the bus driver, the woman's gaze followed his. He turned to look at her again. "The bus driver's an idiot. You…you're suspicious. But please, you could stop looking at me like that."

"Fine," she said. "I'll just find another handsome man to gaze at."

"I'm married. But, who are you?"

"I don't know," the woman replied. "Who am I?"

"No, I asked you that question," said House. "So I'm going to ask you again; who are you?"

Suddenly, the bus dimmed and he was sitting back at the seat where he had been before, and the brunette haired woman was sitting across from him. The other passengers on the bus were gone, and only he, the woman, and the bus driver were there. She answered his question again with the same question he had asked. "Who am I?"

"See, if I knew you, I'd answer the question," said House. "Actually, I wouldn't even bother wasting my time asking you the question. But unfortunately, I've never met you before."

"Unfortunately, huh?" she questioned. "I can help. Look at my necklace. What is it made of?"

"If you tell me who you are, I'll look at your necklace," House said, negotiating.

"Look at my necklace," the brunette haired woman repeated again.

"No," he said firmly. "Tell me who you are."

"Look at my necklace. What is it made of?"

House rolled his eyes, but then looked at her necklace. He could tell that the necklace was made of amber. He looked back up at her face. "Your necklace is made of amber. Now, tell me who you are."

The woman smiled. "Who am I?"

"I don't know…" House paused. The necklace was made of amber… He studied her face.

"Who am I?" she repeated again.

He looked at her in revelation. "Amber…"

The brunette hair on the woman changed to blond, soon revealing Amber's face. Then the scene replayed again, the car slamming into the bus, right behind Amber. As the bus overturned, glass shattered and passengers fell out of their seats. House lost hold of his cane, which flew through the air to the other side of the bus. He reached out to grab Amber's hand. "Amber!"

The bus came to a complete stop, and he was able to move through the debris over to her. As he kneeled down besides her, she said, "I'm cold."

"Stay with me," he told her. He realized that she had a broken piece of metal stuck in her leg, so he took the red scarf she was wearing and wrapped it around her leg, using it as a tourniquet. He held on to her hand, but before he could see what happened next, he passed out. A few moments later, he awoke again, seeing Amber being taken out of the bus by paramedics. He got up from the ground, limping out of the bus. "Amber…"

"House," she called. "House, wake up!"

He opened his eyes, to see that it was Cuddy who had been calling his name. He looked up at her, still in a daze, and said, "Amber, is she okay?"

"House, she's been dead for two years," Cuddy replied.

"Amber, she was the one I saw in my dream," he said. "The dream is of a bus crash, and both she and I were on the bus." For the first time since he was up, he realized that Cuddy was dressed and ready for work, standing besides him. He looked at the clock, which read seven thirty.

"I'm admitting you as a patient," she said. "Now hurry up and get ready for work. You're already late."

She left the room, leaving him to think about what he had just dreamt. He hadn't been having that dream for five days straight if it wasn't supposed to mean something. Something was going to happen to them, to both him and Cuddy, some time soon. And the way Amber had died hadn't been by the hurricanes that hit Florida; he was convinced now that it was something else.

_Chapter 4- Paige is visited by Samantha, who tells her she is fre__e to go. Paige decides to go to the New York Crime Lab with Sam, to visit her old friends, but she knows this sudden release out of jail is more than just suspicious..._

_A/N: I know, this like happened so last season ago, but you'll see how it ties in at the end. But don't say anything that happened during the season finale in your reviews incase there are those who haven't seen the season four finale of House! Thanks! :) Hope you guys liked this chapter!_


	4. Doubts

_Thanks to JavaJunkie4evr and Aly for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Also thanks to xxlil-mizz-hannahxx for putting this story on story alert and favorite stories list! Long chapter guys, but please bear with me!_

_New York City_

_Chapter Four: Doubts_

"Paige…" The sound of her name echoed in the room, but she ignored it, thinking it may just be Eric again, wanting to talk to her. She didn't feel like talking, she was still too tired. But as she listened to the voice saying her name, she could tell that it wasn't Eric's and it sounded more like a female's voice. She opened her eyes. "Paige," the voice repeated again.

"Sam?" Paige whispered.

"That's me, Paige," she replied. "I'm here to tell you that you're free to go, you're free from jail."

Paige looked at her in surprise. The voice had been of Samantha Spade, the FBI agent who had helped her find her true identity. Now she was telling her she was free to go, that she had served all of her jail time. But after talking with Cuddy, she had figured out that she had been in jail for two years; a criminal didn't get let out of jail after only serving two years for murder. Usually they would stay in jail for their entire life, or even worse, get executed, depending how bad the murder was. She didn't want to think about that, the only thought she was focused on was why she was getting let out so early.

She stood up and walked over to Samantha, who was standing outside her jail cell. She looked to her right, to see if Eric was watching her from his jail cell. But he wasn't there. What had happened to him? Samantha's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Do you have all of your personal belongings with you?"

Paige grabbed the bag that was right next to her. She had barely unpacked anything, she had actually believed that during the beginning of her stay at jail she thought someone would take her home right away and that had been why she hadn't unpacked anything. But during her stay she had almost forgotten about it, she had been too focused on either sleeping or trying to figure out what day, month, or year it was.

Sam was looking at her with a concerned expression. "You don't talk much anymore, do you?"

Paige shrugged. She wasn't exactly in the mood to talk with anyone. She was just too overwhelmed by the news of getting out of jail.

"Um, okay," Samantha said, changing the subject. "We're going to get you cleaned up and everything, okay? Then you'll be let out of jail."

Paige nodded.

Samantha signaled to one of the police officers behind her. He came to unlock her jail cell, and for the first time, she wasn't hand-cuffed. And for the last time did she walk down that hallway, the one where she had been down many times before. After she had showered and put on a clean pair of clothes, she followed Sam to the room where she would be meeting with her parole officer. Sam first talked to the officer, while she waited outside the room. This made Paige apprehensive, and she wondered what the two were talking about. Soon the door opened and she was allowed to come inside.

She sat down on the chair across from the officer. He looked up at her. "Miss Hobson?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Do you know why you came here in the first place?"

"Yes," she said. "I murdered General Gamba, six years ago. I had escaped from jail, and then went under the alias 'Lindsay Monroe'. I've been in jail for two years now, serving the time for murdering a famous figure."

"Very good, Miss Hobson," he said. "And do you promise to not murder anyone ever again?"

"Yes," Paige said. "But sir, I think I should stay in jail. I did kill someone and I'm supposed to stay here for a much longer time than two years. I used to work as a CSI and you can't just leave killers to roam around New York."

"But you're not a killer," he said. He paused for a moment and then put out his hand. "Tim Burns. You'll be checking in with me every so month and soon you'll be able to go back to living your normal life."

She wanted to scream, _you're ignoring the subject, _but instead she just shook his hand. "It was nice to meet you sir." She stood up from her chair and followed Samantha out the door. When they were out of sight from the parole officer, she said, "What did you tell him? Why am I being released so early?"

Samantha only looked around her and then signaled her to be quiet. But she wasn't going to take that as an answer. "What, do you need me for something? And after that will I be heading back to jail?"

"I guess I was wrong about you not talking much," said Samantha.

"I guess I was wrong about you still being my friend," Paige retorted.

The two quieted as they reached the gate where she would be released. As they stepped outside, Paige froze. When Samantha realized she was walking alone, she turned around to see that Paige had stopped. "Are you coming?"

She ignored her comment. She was gazing at the city in front of her, the city she hadn't seen for two years now. It sparkled beautifully in the morning light, making it look as if a hurricane had never hit it three years ago. As she came out of her daze, she realized that Sam was still looking at her. "Sorry," said Paige. "It's just that the last time I saw this city was when floods were rummaging through the New York Crime Lab."

She hurried over to Sam, where she was standing by the two waiting police officers. They soon opened the gate, allowing her back into the real world, just as she had wanted. She looked around, hoping to see Danny waiting for her outside the gate, but he wasn't. Wherever he was, she just hoped he was okay.

Samantha showed her to her car, her voice quiet and sweet again as she talked. "I have to go back to work to get a few things. But then, I'll take you where you want to go."

"The New York Crime Lab," Paige quickly replied. "That's where I want to go."

"Okay," Samantha agreed. "Then that's where we'll go."

_The New York Crime Lab, New York_

"Mac," Stella called as she ran through the door to his office. "I've got the DNA results from the lab…" She stopped as he signaled her to be quiet. She turned to look at the TV and saw that he was watching the news. "Oh, don't tell me that there's another hurricane heading for New York?" she asked, thinking about the devastating hurricane that had hit the east coast three years ago.

"No," he replied, turning up the volume. "But it's something you'd be interested in."

She turned to look at the TV again. The story was on some criminal getting released from jail earlier than they had expected. There were people protesting that the person should go back to jail, especially since they had murdered someone important. She looked at Mac. "A criminal gets out of jail, don't we deal with that enough here?"

"Listen," Mac said.

She did what he said, and listened to the news reporter's story. She didn't know why Mac was making such a big deal about the story, especially when their job was to lock up criminals for crimes they had committed. Knowing that a killer had just been released back on the streets of New York was a bad thing for them. But when she heard the name 'Paige Hobson', she realized why Mac had told her to listen. "Lindsay," she said. "She's getting released out of jail early?"

"According to the reporters," said Mac. "But there are a lot of people who disagree with her release."

"Why?" Stella asked, though it seemed like a dumb question to ask.

"She murdered General Gamba, a guy who was an important leader from another country," explained Mac. "There were a majority of people who were glad he was dead, but there were still people who were upset with his death. Those are the people who are now protesting."

Stella nodded. She decided to change the subject. "Um, the DNA results you wanted." She handed Mac the file.

"Thank you," Mac said. He looked at her for a while. "Is there something else you wanted to tell me?"

"Actually," she said, turning around to look at the clock, "I was going to go pick up Corina from daycare." She turned back to look at him. "Is that okay?"

"Yes, that's fine Stel," he replied. When she was about to leave the room, Mac added, "Don't worry about Lindsay, okay? She'll be all right."

Stella nodded. She left the room in silence, and even though he had said not to worry about Lindsay, she did. People were out there who wanted to kill her. What if she got murdered before they ever got to see her again?

* * *

Samantha and Paige entered the crime lab, the place where she had worked as Lindsay Monroe many years before. Though she hadn't been there for a long time, the place seemed familiar to her, and she could remember every detail of the place. As they walked the way to Mac's office, she saw Don Flack, working on paperwork at his desk. He didn't notice her arrival; he was too busy with his work. But she was glad he hadn't seen her, she didn't know what to expect from him if she went to talk to him. He might be happy to see that she was okay, but he may also be angry and wonder why she was out of jail. The news of her murdering someone years ago had weakened her friendships with some of her fellow CSI investigators.

She also saw Sid Hammerback, the medical examiner, walk past them. He turned to look her way when he walked by her, but he had really seen one of the other medical examiners and hurried over to talk to them. She looked at him questioningly. Had her appearance really changed that much after being in jail two years? She didn't think so, but then again, she would have been used to a new look by now. But if they hadn't recognized her, why hadn't he recognized Samantha? Maybe she hadn't stopped by the crime lab in a long time either and that was why he hadn't noticed her.

They continued their walk and soon made their way to Mac's office. Samantha stopped by the glass door and turned to look apprehensively at her. The look made her curious and when she didn't say anything, she wondered why she had looked at her at all. Sam then opened the door, letting herself go in before she did. Once they were inside, they were faced by a questioning look from Mac.

"Paige," he said, smiling in a greeting.

She smiled at the fact that he had called her the right name. "Mac, it's nice to see you again." She walked over by his desk, where he standing and the two hugged. Unlike Flack and Sid, he didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that she had just come from jail. He didn't act like he thought she was a murderer and ignore her like the others. But there was still an awkward silence between them after they hugged, like they had never met and didn't know what to say to each other. The sudden opening of the door broke their silence.

"Lindsay?" a new voice asked.

She turned around to see Stella standing in the doorway, along with her daughter, Corina, which Cuddy had mentioned to her, but she had never met. She smiled weakly, and before she could correct Stella, Mac said, "Actually, it's Paige."

Stella opened her mouth in a manner of a gasp, but then quickly nodded before she could say anything. "Right," she said. "Um, Paige, what are you doing here?"

Now she understood why Stella had begun to gasp. She was surprised at her appearance there and saw her as a murderer, just like Flack and Sid had. Actually, Flack and Sid hadn't noticed her, so she couldn't criticize them of that. But Stella didn't think she deserved to be there, that she should still be in jail. She decided not to start arguing with her, especially not in front of Mac. "I came to visit," she said, which wasn't a lie at all.

Again, Stella nodded, with an appalled look. The look quickly disappeared and a smile appeared across her face. "I'm glad you came."

There didn't seem to be any attitude to her voice, so Paige decided that Stella was telling the truth. "I'm glad to see you again."

For the first time, Paige had noticed Corina, whom Stella had in her arms. Mac and Stella had managed to work through the two years while taking care of Corina; they were good parents. If she hadn't been in jail and was still Lindsay Monroe, she would have offered to baby-sit Corina. But now, she wouldn't dare ask because she knew that the answer would be no. Mac and Stella might have acted friendly towards her during their greeting, but they wouldn't trust her to take care of Corina.

Stella quickly shook hands with Samantha; no one had acknowledged her presence. Mac nodded to her, but Paige didn't think it mattered. Everyone was still too shocked about her being out of jail.

After a moment of silence, Samantha spoke up. "Um, Stella, do you want to take Corina and Paige outside Mac's office for a while? Maybe you could show Paige around the crime lab? I'm sure the crime lab has got to have changed by now."

Stella nodded. "I'll quickly show Paige around the place. Then I'm going to head home with Corina. Is that okay Mac?"

Mac nodded.

Stella then left the office. Before she turned to follow her, Paige looked skeptically at Samantha. There was obviously some reason why Samantha wouldn't let her listen in to the conversation; maybe she would explain to Mac the real reason why she had gotten out of jail. But the question was why would Sam tell Mac first and not her?

After she had walked out of the office and caught up with Stella and Corina, she looked around. She already knew that not much had changed at the lab, even though it wasn't the same building she had worked at when she was a CSI. "Not much has changed here, has it?" she asked Stella.

"Well, the building's not the same," replied Stella. "The room arrangements aren't the same either. You didn't expect New York to look the same after the repair of the hurricane, did you?"

"No!" exclaimed Paige.

"Well, then you can say things have changed."

Stella hadn't changed, Paige thought. She still thought of her as a coward, scared girl who would cry her life away. Well, she had left that life behind many years ago. But she didn't let herself begin to yell at Stella, only because of Corina's presence. But she suddenly remembered what Stella had told her when she had left Montana two years ago—"I won't worry about you kiddo. But I won't forget you." What had happened to the thoughtfulness Stella had shown to her then?

After walking down to the lobby—Stella hadn't shown Paige around the entire lab—she turned to Paige. "Do you think you'll be all right by yourself?"

Paige nodded. She watched as they left, and then walked around the crime lab, trying to find Flack. It didn't take her long to find him, but when she did, she realized he was busy taking a phone call at his desk. He looked up at her, as he ended the call. "Lindsay? What are you doing here?"

By the tone of his voice when he said, "What are you doing here?" she knew he didn't want her there. He must have thought of her as a murderer and not a friend from long ago. "It's Paige," she replied. "And I was just released from jail today. Samantha's here, if you want to talk to her…"

"Hold on for a second," said Flack.

He answered yet another call, and she had to wait again. She was surprised at the way he was treating her, like she was just some person he had met and didn't care to recognize her. She had worked with him once before; he could have at least acknowledged that.

"Um, Lindsay," he said, looking up at her, "do you think we could talk another time? I'm kind of busy at the moment. Thanks." He turned around, walking away from his desk.

"It's Paige," she said, but she knew he didn't hear her. He didn't care for her; he couldn't even get her name right.

She walked away from his desk, to soon meet up with Sid in the hallway. This time, he noticed her and exclaimed, "Paige! You're here!"

She smiled. He had actually got her name right unlike Flack. "Yeah, I just got released from jail today."

"I heard," said Sid. "I'd thought you'd come to visit. It's nice to see you again."

She guessed that it wasn't because Sid had ignored her earlier; it was just that he hadn't noticed her. "Um, Sid, have you seen Danny today by any chance?"

"Yeah," he replied. "He's working in the lab. He'll be glad to see you."

She nodded. "Thanks Sid."

"Don't mention it."

She hurried to the lab, where she found Danny; just like where Sid had said she'd find him. She stood at the doorway and called to him. "Hey."

Danny looked over to her. "Lindsay?"

She laughed. "You haven't seen me for two years and that's what kind of greeting I get?" She walked over to his side. "It's Paige, remember?"

"Sorry," Danny said. "It's just; I haven't seen you for such a long time."

"It's okay, Danny," she said. "I haven't seen you for a long time either." She looked at the clothes that lay on the lab table in front of him. It had been forever since she had ever examined a piece of evidence in the crime lab. But she knew that forever would stay forever, for she wouldn't ever be allowed to work there again. "Examining evidence, huh?"

"Yep," replied Danny.

She took a look at the clothes again and pointed to a mark of blood spatter. "Incase you needed help."

He smiled. "Thanks. But if you want to, you can help."

Paige shook her head. "I can't. I would, but I've just got released out of jail, and Mac wouldn't allow me to work here."

"I heard," he said. "I mean, about you getting out of jail. What's the reason for it?"

Paige shrugged. "Samantha wouldn't tell me."

"Danny!" a new voice called. She turned around to see Sheldon Hawkes, walking over to Danny's side. He immediately noticed her and said, "A familiar face is here!" The two hugged, which made her feel welcomed by the two CSI investigators, and she was appreciative to know that the two didn't think of her as Paige Hobson the murderer. But they still must have thought of her as Lindsay Monroe, the CSI investigator, which wasn't exactly what she had wanted either. "Paige, it's been such a long time!"

"I know," she said in agreement. "The last time I worked here I was Lindsay Monroe…"

Hawkes quickly told Danny about finding the victim's blood on the murder weapon, which made Danny think that the victim might have committed suicide. But then his attention went back to Paige. "How have you been?"

"Okay," replied Paige. "You?"

"Okay too," said Hawkes. "It's been kind of boring here without you around."

"So you're saying my replacement is boring?"

Both Danny and Hawkes nodded. "Do you want to see your replacement?" asked Danny. "You see that brunette haired girl over there? Well, that's her. That's your replacement."

Paige looked at the person that Danny was talking about and saw that she was performing a test she didn't recognize. She shrugged. "She doesn't seem like a bad person."

"Oh, she's not a bad person," said Danny. "But she's too quiet. I barely heard a word out of her since the time she got hired. And when she gives us test results, she just hands them to us and then walks away, not even giving a report on what she found."

"Well, I wasn't talkative the first few days I worked here either."

"But that's the difference," said Hawkes. "She's been working here for two years and she's still the same person. She's literally as quiet as a mouse."

"Well," Paige said, "I guess not everyone changes. Is there anyone else that's new to the crime lab?"

"Well, two Chicagoan detectives Eric Hunter and Katie Holms decided to come to New York when they heard that the city had been rebuilt. They used to work with Mac."

"And Danny of course wouldn't know this," said Paige, remembering that he hadn't worked as a CSI investigator during the time of their stay in Chicago.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't know them either…"

"I had been working as a FBI agent at that time," replied Paige. "But at least I was working a decent job unlike Danny Messer the waiter here."

Danny shook his head. "At least I was working."

After his comment, the computer that Hawkes had been working on earlier beeped, and he went over to the computer to see what had come up. Danny took that as his cue to work again, so he went back to examining the clothes that lay in front of him. She watched him, since she couldn't help anyone in the crime lab. But it wasn't long before she was needed somewhere else.

"Paige?"

She turned around at the mention of her name and saw that Samantha was standing in the doorway of the lab. Danny noticed Sam too and whispered to her, "Maybe this time she'll tell you why you're out of jail."

She shrugged at the comment and walked over to join Sam. She led her to the hallway, where Samantha introduced her to new individual. But this individual wasn't unfamiliar, and when she turned around to take a look at Paige, she gasped, like she hadn't expected to see her. "Paige?"

It was Beth Hobson, her sister that was standing in front of her. Before she could say anything to her, she ran up to her and hugged her. She could hear her cries as she said, "Paige, is it really you?"

"Yes," Paige replied. But then the thought struck her. This was her sister. This was the person that wrote that letter full of hate, to tell the FBI to find her and put her in jail, where she had deserved to die. This was the person who had blamed her for ruining her life. This was the person who could have possibly made the website of Lindsay Monroe, declaring to know her true identity. After Beth released her from the hug, Paige took a step away from her. "Yes, I'm Paige Hobson, your sister."

Samantha gave her a warning glance, for what reason she didn't know. The statement was true, she was Paige Hobson and was Beth's sister. The sadness in her voice almost seemed unreal as she spoke again. "I haven't seen you for such a long time. I…I never thought you'd be found again."

"I haven't seen you for a long time either," replied Paige with a shrug. "You never bothered to visit me in jail."

She gave her a hostile stare, but Beth didn't seem to notice it. Samantha, on the other hand, noticed the stare and again gave her a warning glance. She ignored it and listened to Beth's response. "I would have, but everything's been so busy at work, I just haven't had the time."

_Sure, _Paige thought. _That's a lie and you know it._ She could now remember when she had introduced Adisa to Beth, and she hadn't exactly been comfortable around him. Not that that was the way she was acting now, but she was definitely acting. And she was trying too hard. _You wouldn't make a good actress Beth, but might make it into one of those stupid soap operas,_ Paige thought.

"So," Samantha said, trying to start a conversation between the two, "how have things been for you Beth?"

Oops, she guessed she was supposed to ask Beth that. But she seemed to like talking, so if she didn't have to say anything else to her and just listen to her talk, she would be fine.

"Really well," Beth replied.

Paige didn't like how she had said 'really well'. Nothing had gone well for herself, and now it sounded like Beth was trying to put her down. She was then reminded of the drug company she was with, and at the same time she had introduced her to Adisa, she had told her of the drug companies that had overcharged on AIDS medications and the experimental drug trials they had done on kids in the country of Makeba, the place where Adisa had once lived. She hoped that when Beth had said 'really well' she didn't mean that the drug company she was with was doing well.

"Well, that's good to hear," said Samantha, as she gave her another one of her glances.

Then Paige said, "Yeah, I'm glad for your success." Samantha rolled her eyes at her, but still Beth didn't seem to notice the sarcasm in her voice.

Now it was Beth's turn to ask her the question. "How have things been for you Paige?"

She would have answered, "Do you really think you want me to answer that?" or "I was in jail, I just got released today. How do you think things have been going?" But instead, she answered, "Things have been all right," just to make Sam happy.

Since Samantha still didn't think the answer was acceptable, she decided to change the subject to a more serious matter, where Paige wouldn't say things so sarcastically. "Beth, you remember that note you wrote to the FBI?"

Beth slowly nodded her head.

"Why'd you write it?"

She looked from Samantha to Paige. "Seriously, I didn't mean half the things I said in there. I just wanted the FBI to find Paige, so I knew she would be away from any more trouble. So I thought if I added things like, "I hate her" or "she ruined my life" that the FBI would find Paige right away. I had thought they had forgotten about Paige."

Paige didn't believe her words. Something about Beth had changed, at least from the way she had remembered her. In her dialogue, she had said 'Paige' but never 'my sister'. Something about that seemed a little odd, since they were sisters. "The website?" she mouthed to Samantha. If she could have, she would signed that to her, but unfortunately she didn't remember any of sign and Samantha surely wouldn't understand it.

"Um, yeah," Samantha said with a nod. She turned to Beth. "There was a website made on Lindsay Monroe. You were told that's the alias Paige had been using, remember?"

As Beth nodded, Paige thought, _you told her, Sam? Since when was this? _"Did you make the website?" Paige asked accusingly.

"No," replied Beth. "I have no clue there was even a website on Lindsay Monroe."

Paige highly doubted it. No, she didn't trust Beth, and she wondered if she really was who she said she was. She could be pretending to be Beth Hobson, while the real Beth was back in Makeba because they were making her pay for what Paige had done, for killing General Gamba. This Beth did seem like a good spy…

She interrupted her thoughts. "Paige, could I talk to you alone for a minute?"

_Oh no_, she thought. She was going to confess something to her. She glanced at Samantha, with a look of plea saying; _no don't let me be alone with her unless you want me to go back to jail_ _again._ But the anger that flashed in Samantha's eyes told her two things: Get along with Beth and just talk to her.

Paige walked away from Samantha, following Beth to a small lounge area. Beth sat on the couch while Paige took a seat across from her. She waited for her to talk, though it seemed to take her long enough to gather her thoughts.

"Paige," she began, "why have you gotten out of jail so earlier?"

The concern in Beth's voice surprised her. The sarcasm in her voice now started to disappear. "I don't know," she admitted.

"Oh." Beth looked down to the ground, like that answer just made everything worse. She was out of jail, wasn't that good enough to know? "You need to be careful Paige, there are many people out there that want you to go back to jail, especially the people in Makeba. There are people out there who want to kill you."

Paige nodded. She had realized the news on her own; people were upset with what she had done. And after finding out about being under an alias, many people got even more angered with her. "So, you wanted to tell me to watch out for them?"

"Yes," replied Beth. "I don't…I don't want to lose you again."

Again, Paige nodded. That time, she didn't seem like she was acting. She was actually concerned about her. "I'll be careful," Paige promised. "Don't worry about me, okay Beth?" She stood up from the couch and put her hand out far enough for Beth to reach.

Beth shook her hand. "Okay. No worries." She also stood up from her seat after that, and then she slapped her hands on her jean pockets. "Um, I should probably be getting back, to work and everything."

"Yeah," Paige said in agreement. "That would be a good idea."

"You can tell Samantha that I left then," said Beth. "And I'll see you later...Paige."

She watched as Beth disappeared down the hallway. _And I'll see you later…Paige…_ Had she almost forgotten her name? And how could she have done that, when she was her own sister? Samantha literally scared her when she suddenly appeared by her side and said, "Did you send her away?"

Paige heaved a big sigh when she said that. Sam still thought she couldn't get along with Beth. "No, I didn't send her away. We talked and agreed, just like you wanted. And then she just left."

Samantha nodded. "If you want to go back and talk with Danny, you can. But remember, you can't help him with anything. You aren't allowed to work in the lab."

"I know," replied Paige.

"And I want you to remember this Paige," Samantha said, turning to walk away, "get along with your sister. She hasn't seen you for a long time and you could at least act like her sister."

Paige stared at her in bewilderment as she walked away. What did she mean when she said, 'act like her sister'? Did that mean Beth wasn't her sister? Then the thought struck her. Could she possibly not be Paige Hobson and still be living her life a lie?

She hurried back to the lab to find Danny. As she walked past Mac's office, she saw that Samantha was once again in there, talking to Mac about something. She looked away from the sight. There was obviously something Samantha didn't want to tell her. But she wasn't going to keep quiet and wait for the answer. She would demand answers out of Samantha and the first thing she would ask her is why she had gotten out of jail so early.

_Chapter 5- Thirteen's becoming jealous of House and Cuddy again after learning they are going to have their first child. But House is having hallucinations of Amber, and this might just give Thirteen an advantage…_

_A/N: Very long chapter, I know, but I hope you enjoyed it! I think I'll have the next chapter up by tomorrow!_


	5. Won't Love Anyone But Him

_Thanks to JavaJunkie4evr for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the last chapter!_

_Princeton Plainsboro Hospital, New Jersey_

_Chapter Five: Won't Love Anyone But Him_

Thirteen walked down the darkened hallway, still wiping away tears from her face. Cuddy had given her the order to tell House to meet her in her office. She had still been crying when she had talked to Cuddy, and she was surprised she hadn't noticed her tears at all. But she just couldn't take it, to know that _she _was having her first child with _him._ They had already been married, and she knew that it was going to happen sooner or later, but she still had feelings for him.

She had hoped when Cuddy had become deaf that House would begin to forget about her, but that hadn't happened, and he only found more respect for Cuddy. She had been jealous of the two for a while, and Cameron had noticed it, but now the jealousy was coming back. Cameron had told her she knew what that jealousy had felt like, for she too had liked House once in her life. But that was many years ago, when she had first began her job and was foolish. Thirteen surely wasn't foolish, and she didn't like House because of some stupid reason like because she needed to feel someone else's pain. She truly loved him, and if she could, she would do anything to get him to love her back.

She entered House's office to finally get away from the darkness of the hallway. He instantly looked up to her. "Cuddy sent me here to tell you to meet her in her office," Thirteen quickly said. She looked at him for a while, but then turned to walk out of his office when he didn't say anything. But his reply soon came.

"Wait. Don't leave."

She turned around.

"Don't get on that bus," he said, getting up from his seat and limping over to her. "I'll be fine; I'll be able to get home myself."

Thirteen gave him a look of query. "What are you talking about…?"

But to him, he was seeing her as Amber. He was at a bar and her reply in his hallucination was, "But you're drunk. How do you expect yourself to get home without getting in a car crash? And you called me to come get you. What changed?"

"Taking the bus is the way I'll get home," House said to Thirteen. "You can drive home. Just don't take the bus with me. I'll be fine."

"Okay," Thirteen said in agreement. "I was planning on driving home anyway…"

"No," Amber replied. "I'm coming with you. You'll get hurt somehow. And don't worry about Wilson, I've already told him about my coming to get you. And I took the bus to get here, so I have to use the bus to get back home, no?"

"No, Amber, just find another way home!" exclaimed House and he took her hand. Thirteen looked down at her hand, House now holding on to it. And then she remembered. "House, it's not Amber. It's Thirteen."

Immediately, he said, "Thirteen? What are you doing here?"

"Cuddy wanted you to meet her in her office. I would tell her about this, but since you're headed to her office, you can tell her yourself." She pulled her hand away from House and before she left his office, she said, "And you hallucinated about Amber, if you didn't know."

She stormed out of his office, leaving him to think about what had just happened. Why he had hallucinated about Amber, she didn't know, but she remembered the incident that had happened between them, something he obviously hadn't remembered. And the bus scene, why was he thinking about that? After pacing down many hallways for who knows how long, she found herself in the lobby, and saw Cameron and Chase walking out the doors. The two were perfect together, how come her and House couldn't be like that?

She got her answer when she saw Cuddy and House so closely together, laughing and conversing while they hugged, as she past by the office. She hadn't known House as long as Cuddy had, and while discussing the differential diagnosis, she would mostly argue with him, to prove her intelligence. No, he wouldn't ever love her, and she'd stay a lonely heart forever, never wanting to love anyone else besides him.

_Chapter 6- First Cold Case Chapter! How have things been for the cold case team? What had happened to Lilly and Scotty after the storm? Scotty/Lilly chapter!_

_A/N: Very short compared to the last chapter, and not muched happened, but I hope you still enjoyed it! _


	6. The Perfect Couple

_Thanks to Aly for reviewing the last chapter! Also thanks to Flynn to putting this story on story alert! I'm glad you like this story!_

_Philadelphia Police Department, Pennsylvania_

_Chapter Six: The Perfect Couple_

Scotty Valens entered through the doors of the Philadelphia Police Department. Though the building was not the same, since Hurricane Arthur and the floods that had come after it had destroyed the old building, he could still remember every detail of the old building. But the memory didn't bring sadness to him; he was relieved that a new building had been built and that he had gotten his old job back. And that wasn't the only thing that had happened after the terrible period of freezing weather that had once claimed the earth; only a few months after the tragic storm, he had gotten married to Lilly Rush, the love of his life.

The two had now been happily married for almost two years now, and they had a child now on their way. During the eight months of her pregnancy, Lilly had come to work and helped the best she could, even after Scotty had insisted on her staying home. But he knew Lilly would help in anyway she could and it would be almost impossible for her not to go to work for a long time.

He wasn't surprised when he saw her, sitting at her desk like she would normally be every night, finishing up a few things before she would go find Scotty, and they would go home. She was talking with Detective Kat Miller, and when Kat realized he was there, she exclaimed, "Hey look at that, Scotty Valens has finally arrived!"

"Yeah Scotty, where have you been?" asked Lilly, going along with Kat's joke.

Scotty smiled, walking over to join the two. He knew that the two knew he had been at a suspect's home, questioning him for the murder of a cold case the team was solving. Another thing he had been relieved about was that the team had been able to work together again, just as they had three years ago.

Since he had gotten the joke, Lilly asked, "How did it go with the suspect?"

"Fine," he replied. "But he definitely seemed like the type to murder someone."

"Well, until we find solid evidence to prove it's him, he'll remain as a suspect," said Kat. As Scotty nodded, she added, "And I think it's time that we'd get going home."

"Yeah," Lilly said in agreement, getting up from her chair. Immediately, Scotty rushed to her side and helped her. She smiled at him in gratitude. "Thank you Scotty."

Scotty nodded, smiling back at her. Kat was also smiling at the two, and she said, "I can never get over how cute you two look together."

That made them smile even more, and with that, Scotty holding Lilly's hand, they left the police department after a late night's work.

_Chapter 7- Something suspicious is going on, and Paige can knows something's up. Mac has been talking to Samantha for a long time, leaving Stella to manage all the work, and Paige knows Mac and Sam are talking about her release from jail. The website about Lindsay Monroe has been updated again, and the person who updated it still doesn't believe Paige is who she says she is. Is Paige really Paige Hobson or could she possibly still be Lindsay Monroe?_

_A/N: Sorry it's such a short chapter! Thought you'd like a little Scotty/Lilly chapter (or Silly as I like to call them:) ). But I promise the next chapter will be longer! Hope you liked it!_


	7. A New Message

_Here's chapter seven. Hope you like it!_

_Chapter Seven: A New Message_

_The New York Crime Lab, New York_

Paige sat outside the lab, watching people and a few of her friends pass by. A day had passed by since she had talked with Beth, and she still hadn't gotten a single word out of Samantha about why she had gotten out of jail so early. Samantha had told her to stay at the lab that day, but hadn't given her a reason why she needed to. Now it seemed like the friend she had had back before she had ever found out her true identity was disappearing. Now it seemed like Samantha wouldn't tell her anything, like she didn't trust her to know a single thing about what was going on.

She had been waiting for Sam to call her back, to tell her when she was coming back to the crime lab. Why she had to come to the crime lab, she didn't know, but it had to have something to do with her. Maybe Sam didn't even trust her to drive home alone without pulling out a gun and killing someone again. But that malicious thought; she had stayed in jail for two years and hadn't done anything wrong and had been unlike many of the people who had stayed in jail. Sam was the one who had said she was allowed out of jail; it's not like she had escaped from jail once again. What was the reason for Sam not trusting her?

It was uncommon of her too, especially when she had helped her so much when trying to find out her real identity. Then Sam had comforted her and reassured her that everything would be all right. She had been the one to find her true identity, she had been the one to convince Jack Malone to allow her to work with the FBI, and she had never spilled her secret about her double identity. How all of the sudden did Sam just forget about their friendship and not trust her anymore?

She took her concentration off her thoughts and got up from the couch. She had been sitting there forever now, and the longer she sat there, she would become a permanent part of the seat. She had to at least walk around in the hallways; she wasn't going to sit all day. And Mac had ordered her not to stop in the lab and disturb Danny, only because he didn't want him to get off track and forget that he had a case to solve. So since she couldn't be a distraction to Danny or pretty much talk to anyone, walking around the hallways would have to do.

As she strolled around the hallway, she saw Stella reading a file while she was furiously muttering to herself. She nearly knocked into her when she passed her. She looked up to her. "You okay Stel?"

The anger on her face seemed to only get worse as she replied. "Mac, he just sent me out of his office because he was on 'an important business call'." Paige wondered why that was bugging Stella, but she soon got her answer. "He's calling that stupid FBI agent Samantha Spade again. Not to blame this on you Paige, but ever since your release yesterday Mac's been making me and the rest of the CSI investigators do all the work on this case we've been trying to solve. It's like he's out of focus. It's like he doesn't care about work anymore."

"But my release was yesterday," replied Paige, beginning to match Stella's pace as she began to walk. "Is he really that focused on, well, whatever he's talking to Samantha about?" Paige remembered that Stella hadn't always liked Sam; she had tried to get information out of her when they had been evacuating New York to Chicago, and she wanted to find out exactly who Paige Hobson had been.

"He must be," Stella said. "I don't know, but he's been here since ten. It's eleven. I've been here since six this morning…"

"Around the time I came here," Paige confirmed.

Stella nodded. "And I've been doing work for him. The things that he was supposed to accomplish yesterday, but he didn't. I've been running around the lab ever since six and I think I've just about had it."

"I'm sorry Stel. I would have helped you, if I could. But Mac ordered me not to…"

"I know you would have kiddo," replied Stella. "And I'm glad to hear that. But Mac wasn't the one who ordered you to stay out of the lab and not talk to anyone."

Paige remembered that a lab technician had told her that Mac wanted her to stay away from the lab. Mac hadn't actually in person told her to stay out of the lab. "Then who told that lab technician to tell me that?"

Stella stopped walking. "I did and for a good reason. One, you were released from jail yesterday and I knew Mac wouldn't allow you to work in the lab. Two, I wouldn't want you to go back to something you hadn't done in what, two, three years? There are new tests that have been created that you don't even know and you might not even remember the old tests you used to perform in the lab. So part of the order was sort of from Mac, if you think about it."

Paige nodded. "And Samantha won't tell me anything about what she had talked to Mac about. She won't even tell me why I'm out of jail."

"So we're both stuck in between partly knowing and not knowing the truth?"

"Yep," Paige agreed.

They walked into the break room, which didn't surprise Paige, because she knew that Stella would want a break. She took a seat at the table, while Stella walked over to the refrigerator. She came back to the table with a bottle of water and a salad. "Do you want anything to eat? I can allow you to eat."

Paige laughed. "Thanks, but I'm not really hungry." Truthfully, she was hungry. But something else had grabbed her attention. "May I use the computer over there?" She pointed to a computer near the window.

"It's fine with me."

Paige took that as a yes and moved over to the computer. She hadn't trusted Beth and she needed to know the answer. She opened up the website that she had discovered two years ago back when she used to work as a FBI agent. She immediately found it, but saw that nothing had changed. It was still about Lindsay Monroe, of who she used to be, but hadn't included anything about Paige Hobson. But when she scrolled down to see the bold letters that said "I know your true identity, Lindsay Monroe," she saw that there was more there. Under those letters read:

**You're not who you say you are. You're not that girl; you're just faking her identity, just as you had done before. Give it up. Be the real person you are before you cause any more trouble to the world.**

Paige gasped, which immediately got Stella's attention, and she rushed to her side. She couldn't believe her eyes; something had been changed on the website. It was now obvious to her that Beth had made the website; she had to have made it. Though there was no evidence, because she knew anyone could have written it, she believed that it was Beth. She didn't fall for her overacting the day before.

"What is it, Paige?" Stella asked in concern.

She turned to look at her. "Did Mac ever mention the website about me; I mean the website about Lindsay Monroe?"

Stella nodded.

"Um, well this is it!" Paige exclaimed, pointing to the computer screen.

Stella took the mouse and scrolled around, looking at the website. She turned to look at Paige after she read the bold text. "How did this person get all of this information on you?"

"I really don't know, Stella."

"But, these bold letters, they could have nothing to do with you. They do keep referring to 'that girl' and 'you' and 'the real person'. Not once did they mention Paige Hobson."

"But they do mention Lindsay Monroe in the first text," replied Paige. She read the words aloud, "'I know your true identity, Lindsay Monroe.'"

Stella was shaking her head. "This has all got to mean something. It sounds like it was from before, like whoever had created this website had been trying to convince you to admit your true identity. So the text could be old."

Now she knew that Stella hadn't made the website after all. She could tell she wasn't acting, and no way would Stella ever do this to her. She still believed Beth had made it, and she had a good reason why. "Last night, when I got home, I found this same exact website and nothing had changed. That text had to have been added this morning or after I closed the website last night."

"Do you have any idea who might have made it?" asked Stella.

Paige smiled, only because she had the answer to that question. Her smile quickly faded as she said, "I believe the person who made this is Beth Hobson, my sister."

Stella gave her a look of disbelief. "You met your sister yesterday. And she never knew about Lindsay Monroe. You seriously wouldn't think it was her, no?"

"I don't trust her," replied Paige. "She must have planned everything out about meeting me at the crime lab to talk. And she can't act for anything…" In recognition she realized that Beth didn't think she was who she said she was. Beth didn't believe she was really Paige Hobson… She turned to Stella. "Do you think I'm really Paige Hobson?"

Stella gave her a confused look. "Of course you are. You took that DNA test and the results came back as Paige Hobson. You have to be her."

"I have to be," Paige said. "But maybe I'm not."

"Where did you come up with this idea?"

"Beth made this website," replied Paige. "And by this text, I can tell she doesn't believe I'm Paige, her real sister. It's know wonder why she put on such an act yesterday."

"I don't know Paige," replied Stella. "It just doesn't seem to fit. Beth couldn't have known anything of Lindsay Monroe. She never met you when you were Lindsay."

"That letter," Paige said suddenly. "Samantha said it was sent to the FBI department. Maybe it wasn't sent. Maybe Beth came to the department herself, gave it to one of the employees there, and she could have seen me, even overheard the name 'Lindsay Monroe' and about me having two different identities. It makes sense too, because I found this website a little after discovering the letter she wrote."

"So you're saying we should ask Samantha if the letter that Beth wrote was sent or not?"

She nodded. "I'll ask Sam that." She turned to look at the clock, which read eleven thirty. "Should you be picking up Corina soon?"

"Normally at twelve," replied Stella. "But today, I'll be picking her up at three. Mac had at least taken her to daycare at about ten, around the time when he arrived here."

"At least he did a favor for you," said Paige, trying to make Stella forget her anger at Mac. She didn't like to see them fight and it was odd to see them fight since they seemed to always get along.

"Well," Stella said, finishing the rest of her salad, "I guess we can both ask Samantha about that letter, huh? The longer break I can get, the happier I'll be." When she was done with salad and water and threw them away, she followed Paige to Mac's office. He had been on the phone with Samantha long enough now; he could let them talk to her for a few minutes. But again, Mac responded to the two with the attitude he had had towards Stella earlier.

"Stella, didn't I just tell you I was on a business call…?"

Stella immediately took charge and began to yell at him. "Don't say that Mac, both Paige and I know you're talking to Samantha. And you know what, maybe you could get off the phone for a little while and work in the lab and do something to help me on this case because I've been here since six working and you've been here since ten talking on the phone. So hand it over Mac."

Paige grimaced at what Stella had just said. She hated hearing her yell at Mac like that; when they treated each disrespectfully it seemed as if they weren't the two same people that she knew. But Mac gave in easily; he quickly told Samantha about their wanting to talk to her and quickly said goodbye. Then he handed the phone over to Stella, who handed the phone to her. She watched Mac leave and then said into the phone, "Sam?"

Samantha immediately knew it was her. "Yes, Paige? What is it that you want to talk about?"

"Remember the letter Beth wrote to the FBI to find me?" Paige asked into the phone.

"Yes."

"Did Beth actually send the letter to the FBI department back in Chicago, or did she come in and give it to one of the employees there to give it to you?"

"She came in," Samantha replied. "Why?"

"She heard me talking about Paige Hobson then," explained Paige. "She heard about me being two different people. And she must have heard the name 'Lindsay Monroe', I'm almost certain of it. I think I can even remember seeing her that morning."

_Lindsay walked down the hallway to meet up with Jack Malone, her boss. She greeted him with a smile. "Hey, did you find anything on Paige Hobson?"_

"_Not anything new," replied Jack._

_A new woman entered the building, walking over to one of the employees. The guy nodded his head as she explained to him what he was to do with the letter she had just handed him. Lindsay tried to focus her attention anyway from the mysterious woman. "So nothing has come up on my double identity?"_

"_I'm sorry Lindsay, but no," said Jack._

"_Special Agent Monroe!" a new voice called._

_She turned around to see Martin walking towards her. But before he reached them, Lindsay and Jack hurried over to his side and walked in step with him. They walked away, talking about a case. But the mysterious woman had listened in to this. This woman was Beth Hobson, and she had just handed that guy a letter that told the FBI to find her sister. Lindsay Monroe, if that was what the special agent's name was, had two different identities. Was she pretending to be her sister, Paige, while she also was pretending to be Lindsay Monroe as well? She left the FBI building, off to find out who this agent really was._

"She was there," said Paige. "I know she was. She heard everything. Sam, I know you don't believe this, but Beth was the one who made that website. She had known about Lindsay Monroe, or at least found out about me somehow. It was her plan all along.

"She wanted me to admit I was Paige Hobson and now she wants me to say that I've actually been faking my identity, right from the start."

There was a silence on the phone as Samantha thought about what she just heard. But the answer she gave Paige wasn't what she had wanted. "No. Beth didn't make that website. You're assuming too much. You just don't trust her and want to blame her on that website."

Stella took the phone from Paige. "Samantha, listen, Paige is telling the truth. That website had to have been made by Beth. It makes sense; no one else that knows about the Paige Hobson/Lindsay Monroe thing would have done that."

"Maybe you're lying," replied Samantha. "You just want to agree with Paige to look like the good person. Paige once did believe you made the website."

"I don't care if she had believed that," Stella said, her anger growing once again. "That was then and this is now. Beth made that website Samantha; I'm telling you that's the truth."

"Let me talk to Mac again."

"You talked to him enough. Goodbye Samantha and have a wonderful day." She slammed the phone down on Mac's desk. Paige found it hard not to laugh at Stella's sarcasm. But she quickly stopped herself when she saw the look on Stella's face. "Aren't you even a little bit angry?"

Paige shrugged. "What I believe is what I believe. I think Beth made the website, so I'll stick to that until the very end. I'll prove she made it, no matter how long it takes."

"Good determination," Stella agreed. She turned to look at the clock. "I should probably get back to the lab. Mac will soon order me to go back to work anyway." She walked to the door, but then stopped to look at Paige again.

"I know what you're thinking," she said. "I won't get lonely Stella, trust me. I'll just sit outside the lab, walk around, and maybe even find Mac and tell him to go work. Besides, you ordered me to stay out of the lab. You didn't say anything about ordering other people around." Paige passed by Stella, going off to find Mac. Stella laughed at the comment she had made, and then headed back to the lab, before Paige ordered _her_ to stay in the lab.

_Chapter 8- Without a Trace chapter next...Samantha has just gotten off the phone with Paige and Stella. What is the deal with the Paige's release? This chapter will tell all..._

_A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! I hopefully update by Wednesday or Thursday!_


	8. To Tell You the Truth

_Thanks to lily moonlight (welcome back! :) ) and Aly for reviewing! Also thank you to EllaNichole for putting this story on your favorite stories list!_

_FBI Department, New York_

_Chapter Eight: To Tell You the Truth…_

Samantha placed her phone down on her desk, trying to forget the angry Stella she had just talked to. Paige had believed that her sister, Beth, had made the website about Lindsay Monroe, but she on the other hand, couldn't imagine her doing that. Beth knew nothing about Lindsay Monroe, and even if she had overheard her talking to Jack one day about that when she had dropped off the letter, there would be no way she would immediately figure out that Paige had had secretly two different identities. Paige just didn't trust her sister, and that was the reason why she thought she made the website.

She turned to her computer, opening up the website of Lindsay Monroe. It was still the same, but when she saw the message below 'I know your true identity, Lindsay Monroe' she saw the new text that would have gotten Paige to believe her sister had wrote that. She sighed, which got Jack's attention.

"Everything all right, Spade?" he asked.

"Well, you remember that website about Lindsay Monroe?"

Jack nodded, coming over to her side.

"The website's been updated." She pointed to the new text on the screen. "'You're not who you say you are. You're not that girl; you're just faking her identity, just as you had done before. Give it up. Be the real person that you are before you cause any more trouble for the world'."

"It still might not be Beth," said Jack.

"I don't know," replied Samantha. "There's no evidence to prove it's her. But, Jack, do you think she knows of what actually happened to Paige Hobson?"

"Does Paige really know about what happened?" Jack asked, ignoring her question.

"Mac knows," replied Samantha.

"I didn't ask if Mac knew," said Jack. "I asked if Paige knew."

Samantha looked down at her desk. She hadn't told her, but she knew Paige had tried to get her to tell her the truth, the real reason why she had gotten out of jail after only serving two years of her sentence. Paige had been suspicious during the meeting with her parole officer, which in truth, she really wouldn't need to be seeing too often. She had done that to make it look real enough, to make it look like she was getting out of jail because she hadn't caused any problems during the two years of staying there. But that wasn't the real reason.

She had been quiet for a while, and Jack knew the answer to his own question now. "You never told her." He put his hand on his forehead and sighed. "Sam, why didn't you tell her?"

"I didn't think she needed to know," Sam said simply.

"She needs to know," said Jack. "She's probably already suspicious with all the time you've talked to Mac today and yesterday. The news won't devastate her, if that's what you were thinking."

"Yes it will Jack," replied Samantha crossly. "She's been her for so long, it'll be too much of a shock for her."

"Two years Sam," said Jack. "That's not a long time at all. And she'll be more shocked when she finds out the secret herself than if you talk to her."

Samantha stood up from her desk. "You don't know what she's been through. You wouldn't understand at all. I'm the one who helped her most through this anyway. But if you want, you can tell her, because I'm not planning on telling her anything about this. Not yet." She stormed away from him.

"You'd better tell her soon Spade!" he yelled at her.

She just shook her head, not even stopping to think to turn around and argue with him. She didn't need to know, she had no reason to know. She would tell her when she wanted, and she'd have to be patient about it. Since she had been so irritated with Jack, she hadn't even realized Martin Fitzgerald was calling her name, and she bumped into him. "Samantha!"

"What is it, Martin?" she asked him as she helped him pick up some of the files he had dropped.

He looked at her, with concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, picking up the last of the files that had fallen to the floor. She then walked away from him, leaving him to think about the answer she had given him. She knew he could tell she wasn't fine, that something had happened to her. She didn't want to talk about it though, so she had walked away from him so she could get away from answering any more questions.

Her thoughts were still on Paige Hobson, and what had really happened to her. The Paige she knew wasn't really Paige Hobson. The real Paige Hobson had been found dead only a few days ago, in the country of Makeba, where her love, Adisa had once lived before getting exiled from there. She had tried to make up for what she had done, after killing General Gamba, the leader of Makeba. But the people had killed her immediately after her efforts to help the country. Samantha knew that was what she had wanted though, to die in the country where Adisa had lived, to be punished for killing their leader. Dying in jail wouldn't have satisfied the real Paige; she needed to die somewhere were she would be remembered, even if she was remembered for the bad that she had done and not the good.

But she didn't want Paige, or really now Lindsay, to know about that. She didn't think she'd take the news well, and she might think that she was working with Beth on something just to convince her she wasn't really Paige Hobson. At this rate, she didn't think Lindsay would trust Beth or herself anymore.

_Chapter 9- House chapter! House visits Wilson, but Amber gets in the way..._

_A/N: And the mystery unravels...next chapter may be up by tomorrow or hopefully by the weekend!_


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